Plying the Backwaters

Paul's Traveller

In the second session, the PCs arrived in the backwater system of Arra with a bit of a surprise: as soon as they dropped out of jump space, they were almost hit by a Navy destroyer shooting past at high speed (and accompanied by two other destroyers). However, the skilled pilot was able to avoid a collision, and the Loki proceeded on without incident.

As the ship approached Arra, it was hailed by customs, and told to prepare for inspection. The inspection turned out to be routine, with one major exception: the customs agent told them that they would be charged 25KCr a person for all non-citizens on board—but anyone could register as a citizen with a minimum of paperwork. Oh, and the next day was election day, by the way. All the people on board (save one) agreed, although the crew registered some of them under phony names.

Much of the time on Arra was spent trying to get off the planet, as it turned out to be a very small, very pissant place. But the crew were frequently frustrated by delays, including

Businesses that were (shockingly) not able to drop everything instantly to pick up cargo from the Loki

An election day holiday closing down most businesses

Consistent pressure to vote

A post-election strike by the Teamsters, in protest of the election results

The crew did manage to meet a few interesting people, though, including a seemingly failed journalist who latched on (and ended up being hired by the crew) and a disgraced ex-fighter. Mr. Jones also tried to cut a deal to buy some carser meat, but the deal fell through when the ship left Arra more quickly than expected.

Financially, the trip to Arra was basically a wash: the crew spent a fair amount on upkeep, fuel, and freezer equipment for the cargo hold, but ended up with a modest profit after being paid by their “special” passenger, Cato.

Yesterday, we created characters using a method that combined elements of Classic Traveller and Fate. The PCs all ended up with connections to each other, and often extensive backgrounds. I thought this part worked out well, but you’d have to ask the players for more.

The characters are:

A pilot from a small asteroid world that used the Scouts as a way out of her isolated existence—but then wanted nothing to do with the Scouts

A naval officer with some shady friends; he ended up acquiring a share of a Free Trader (along with the Scout)

A drifter with a variety of skills for getting by in the universe; in particular, he has worked as a courier

A computer specialist with a taste for a fast buck

A rogue determined to use his wits to get advantages in life

After creating characters, we started the campaign itself. The players spent the session putting together the basic roles each character will play in the campaign. And the PCs (with the rogue leading the way) filled most of the cabins and cargo bay with cargo. Among the potentially shady things on board:

A secretive man willing to pay 50,000 for a 1-parsec journey to Arra

A bank transporting a sealed carton whose contents are unknown to Zaonbima

I’ll be keeping an eye on the cargo bay as well, since I’m down that way most of the time. Plus I’m going to be checking all the ship systems very carefully for signs of tampering during the flights. That includes the low berths.

Skipper? You get us there in one piece and make sure we’re not being tracked or something.

A blog for your campaign

While the wiki is great for organizing your campaign world, it’s not the best way to chronicle your adventures. For that purpose, you need a blog!

The Adventure Log will allow you to chronologically order the happenings of your campaign. It serves as the record of what has passed. After each gaming session, come to the Adventure Log and write up what happened. In time, it will grow into a great story!

Best of all, each Adventure Log post is also a wiki page! You can link back and forth with your wiki, characters, and so forth as you wish.

One final tip: Before you jump in and try to write up the entire history for your campaign, take a deep breath. Rather than spending days writing and getting exhausted, I would suggest writing a quick “Story So Far” with only a summary. Then, get back to gaming! Grow your Adventure Log over time, rather than all at once. Pinch a loaf.